The Past, the Present, the Future
by Stelena-Beautiful
Summary: An amnesiac Jennifer Rappaport meets the love of her life in Dr. Matt Hunter. But what happens when her forgotten past comes a callin?


**The Past, the Present, and the Future**

She had no memory of who she was or where she had came from or why she had ended up in this stinky little hamlet known as Port Charles. All that she knew was that all it took was one look from a pair of smoky brown eyes to keep her around.

His name was Matt. Matt Hunter. He was as handsome as he was cocky, as intelligent as he was self-deprecating. And entirely lovable despite his bristly exterior.

She decided on their third date that she wanted to have his babies. About a dozen of them. No, maybe twenty or thirty. It could happen. He had declared that she was in perfect health after he found her lying on the docks one night, bleeding from the head, not knowing where she came from or even how she got the head injury. He had tried performing CPR on her and she had sort of laughed incorrigibly at it because she had felt light-headed enough to pass out initially but truly much more light-headed when his lips found hers, trying to breathe life into her.

"You think this is funny?" He had asked as he helped her to her feet and insisted on driving her to the hospital for a full examination. "I wasted some perfectly good breaths on you."

But they both knew soon enough that there was nothing wasted in their time together. Who knew when it would end? _Life was too short;_ _live in the present_ - they were living by those mottos even while the ghost of her forgotten past hung around them and blanketed them both with insecurity that they tried to hide.

The first time they made love, she swore the angels sang. It was just that damn good, just that damn intense. His fingers had been so nimble, seeming to memorize every line and curve of her warm flesh. His lips had seared her and branded her as his for as long as it lasted. And they didn't know how long that would be.

XoXoXo

Eventually by a twist of fate, her old life caught up with her. She had been on the docks once again when a gun fight du jour broke out. She got shot in the arm. It made the news. The local and national news as the reporters picked up the story that she had magically survived when five other people had been killed. She was calling herself Lindsay – she didn't know why, she just liked that name – and they interviewed her and hounded her a bit and then sent her home. They proclaimed to the news that "Lindsay Doe" was a true miracle who had cheated death not once but twice.

The true twist of fate was that Rex Balsom, a spiky-haired ex of hers, had been watching the news. He had said that he recognized her immediately, said he should have known all along that she was alive. He rushed to Port Charles with a menagerie of well-wishers and happy people who were so glad "their" Jen was alive.

Matt was pushed to the background, forced to wait in the wings while she was assaulted with people wanting to share their memories of her, wanting to make her remember the good old days. She felt for him but it couldn't be avoided. Rex was relentless in his pursuit of her and eventually she agreed to a date to appease him.

When she actually had fun with him, she was tempted to return to her old life, see what it would be like to tread in Jennifer Rappaport's shoes. Her mom was so happy that she was alive and that she had somehow chosen the name Lindsay. Jen had heard that she and the real Lindsay Rappaport had never had an easy relationship, had finally declared a truce right before she "went to heaven" and that Mama Lindsay had fallen apart when she "died".

But all through it, she failed to remember any of the past, failed to even want to when she was "Lindsay Doe", Matt's girl. Matt's _life._ She loved him, she had yet to tell him but she did.

She came to him one night and told him just that. "Is that a consolation prize before you turn and walk away?" Matt demanded and she swore she saw tears in those eyes of his that had captivated her from day one.

"No, it's what it is. I love you. I love _you_, Matt Hunter. I am not going to walk away from you unless you want me to."

He dropped down onto the ratty sofa he had had since his days at med school. He had said he couldn't bear to part with it after all the hard times and study dates it had seen him through. He was just quirky enough that he didn't intimidate her but rather intrigued her.

"Of course I don't want you to go, Lind – Jennifer, but you are who you are. You're not my Linds anymore. You're everyone else's Jennifer. They have a past with you that I can never replicate. They have a history with you that sounds both 'grand and exciting'. You cheated death more than once; they want you back."

She slid beside him on the couch and took his hand. "What if I don't want to go back there? What if I like where I am and who I'm with right now?"

He looked at her. "Eventually you're going to resent me if I ask you to stay."

"No way," she said. "You saved my life. We're tight now," she said with a chuckle. "But the thing is … I don't want to be Jennifer Rappaport anymore. I don't think I liked who she was all that much though I like the people who loved her. I want to be Lindsay Doe again and have it just be you and me against the world."

"We can't go back. We can't pretend you're the same woman …"

"Matt, I am the same woman you fell in love with. I am the same woman who loves you and never, ever wants to let go. I am the same woman who wants to have two dozen of your children …"

He chuckled. "Two dozen? That's a tall order."

She smiled even as tears began to pour down her face. "I'm still your girl if you'll have me."

"Of course I will," he said and leaned over, capturing her lips in a kiss. When they pulled apart for the sake of breathing, he murmured into her hair, "What am I supposed to call you now?"

"How about … um … Len?" She suggested. "It's a combo of Lindsay and Jen and shows that I am a whole new woman. I have my past but I also have my future sitting right beside me on this ratty old, dirty couch."

He sniffed. "I'll have you know this is not just a couch, it's a masterpiece of fine craftsmanship."

She smiled and he reached out and wiped away every one of her tears. "I want my future with you, Matt; I'm not walking away now. Not when I'm yours in every way that counts."

Matt nodded and pulled her into his arms again. "I love you … Len."

"I love you, Matt," she said, snuggling into his arms.

Matt kissed her on the lips. "Now what do you say we get working on those two dozen babies?"

She chuckled. "I say there is no time like the present…"

**THE END**


End file.
